It's a working man l am
And I've been down under ground
And I swear to God if ever see the sun
Or for any length of time
I can hold it in my mind
I never again will go down under ground

At the age of sixteen years
Oh he quarrels with his peers
Who vowed they'd never see another one
In the dark recess of the mines
Where you age before your time
And the coal dust lies heavy on your lungs

Chorus

At the age of sixty-four
Oh he'll greet you at the door
And he'll gently lead you by the arm
Through the dark recess of the mines
Oh he'll take you back in time
And he'll tell you of the hardships that were had

Chorus

(Repeat Chorus)

(Repeat Chorus)

God I never again will go down under ground

Lyrics taken from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/r/rita_macneil/working_man.html

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Working man is what my dad was at easington colliery. He was left with a legacy of illness which eventually claimed his life. He never wanted my two brothers to go and work down the mine. They went down with him but only on a visit to see what it was like. He would not take me down. I loved my dad and he worked hard L. He worked seven miles out under the north sea as a power loader, in sometimes horrible and dangerous working conditions. Like many other miners their were cut short long after the pits closed. If the pits were still open I truly cannot see the young lads and men of today working down there and some don't like hard work. If it wasnt for the old miners I don't know where we would be today. There is still a rich seam of coal (has been found when they have drilled cores for oil/gas)the north east coast but there is a fault in front of the seam which meant the mine would have to go deep down and under it. Dangerous and hard to do. I heard this song one week ago sung by an old ex miner called peter on a national bus trip on the 5th may 2012, by the time peter had finished singing, I was crying, as it also happened to be the anniversary of my dads death that day. The words say everything and the miners were brave. Christine, peterlee, co. Durhasm.

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UnregisteredDec 4, 2011 at 1:27 am

The mines certainly was a very good living. Although as a child at school with my dad down in the bowels of the earth I certainly was never was at ease, he told me of the hardships of being called to work to dig out his dead peers whom were crushed in a mine collapse. Etc also the strikes! His peers spitting on him calling him a scab. That's now all past. But is it? Not for me it isn't! Still today I watch the men of my family fall to their gaves through the illness of the copd! Dad the latest. Now in the latter stages at age 56!. I tell ya what this song means to me. "i never will go down underground!! " no amount of money/wage is worth that hardship! Someday I'm taking my nursing leave to meet rita macneil at her tearoom. Shane, nottinghamshire. Uk.

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